Biological factors and social theorising

Abstract:

The thesis is focused upon the social sciences' use, abuse and neglect of biological knowledge. The scientific study of human behaviour has always been the province of the social sciences. Yet with a subject as complicated as human behaviour there should always be room to utilise all knowledge from every source available. One such insight has emerged from within the biological sphere, or to be more specific, the evolutionary context. This seems inevitably sensible when considering that evolution is not just a proven historical phenomenon describing how we and all other living beings came to be; it is also a vital ongoing process that leaves its ontinuing mark even today in our highly symbolised existence. These are the claims of the discipline sociobiology. Sociobiology can be defined as : the systematic study of the biological basis of all social behaviour . This has been made possible with the recent successes in biology, particularly genetics, which has led to the investigation of diverse specific forms of the interaction of the biological and the social in the evolutionary development of mankind. Sociologists have given an impressive presentation of human behaviour, on concepts such as altruism, incest, territoriality, socialisation and others. Why then have social scientists failed to utilise these theoretical implications in their current works? Instead there is a tendency to downplay, or even deny, biology as an important factor in human behaviour. This is due to a long and heated nature/nurture debate between biologists and social scientists, which involves two contrasting views of human behaviour. Yet such conflicting views do not have to compete with one another in explaining human behaviour - instead we can use these two views profitably, provided that we are prepared to take the trouble to see how they are related. Perhaps an interdisciplinary co-operation between these two views could be regarded as a solution to the nature/nurture debate, for lowing the simple recognition that both play a vital role in the behaviour of human beings. This can be seen as vital for the achievement of an intergrated account of man's multi-faceted problems. Such a trend is evident among many biologists and social scientists today.